What My Mother Doesn't Know

by Sonya Sones

[Angie]

Told as a series of poems, What My Mother Doesn't Know is one of the more popular verse novels. I'm attempting to read more of these types of novels, so of course I need to read some of the older, well loved ones. I'm certainly glad I chose this one to start with! I found Sophie to be extremely relatable, and some of her poems reminded me of myself as a teen.

What really stood out about this one, compared to other YA fiction, is that Sophie's parents are present. They may not be 100% involved in her life, but let's be honest, most of us kept our parents out of our business at that age. Her father doesn't play much of a role, and there is a poem about that at the beginning. However, Sophie's mom is all over this. It's the typical love-hate relationship that I can completely identify with.

I also loved the brief online relationship that Sophie finds herself in. I definitely remember the days of chatting with that perfect stranger, until realizing that they're not so perfect. I was proud of Sophie for making better decisions involving the internet than I did when I was younger!

I absolutely adored watching Sophie and Robin fall in love. It was very real and super sweet. It just goes to show how wrong you can be about people when you don't take the time to get to know them. Now, I can't help but wonder if I've missed out on a Robin of my own. I smiled from start to finish while reading this, with several laugh out loud moments sprinkled along the way. I definitely recommend this one!